Newsletter

What to make of the closing of a popular downtown bar?

It's almost always a shame to see a business close, and I know a lot of people were especially disappointed when The Caledonian shut its doors last month.

The bar at 42nd and Abercorn was an instant hit, especially with folks from the surrounding neighborhoods, after it opened last spring. Residents of places like Ardsley Park, Thomas Square and Baldwin Park had few, if any, local watering holes.

Bars play an important role in public life - and they have for centuries. Largely because of its central location, The Caledonian pulled in especially big crowds and a particularly interesting mix of patrons. I was never really attracted to the huge, echoey interior, but every time I went there I ran into someone whom I was thrilled to see.

I imagine the bar's closure left some people wondering about the viability of a midtown location, and owners of vacant commercial property in the neighborhood must have been especially worried.

But let's be clear. The bar did not close because of a lack of business. As detailed in an article here in this paper last Wednesday, The Caledonian failed because of "management differences." Conflicts between owners bring down a lot of small businesses.

So it's good to know that the current ownership team plans to reopen next month.

And there's still a great deal of potential for other businesses in midtown, especially restaurants and bars that are able to offer parking to regular patrons from throughout the area. The convenient location is just one of the many reasons why so many people are excited about the restaurant slated to open later this spring at the corner of Bull and Duffy.

With the general cooling of the real estate market in the downtown area, there are a lot of short-term question marks for midtown. The long-term picture, however, is decidedly better.

'Beastly Feast' to raise money for new facility at Oatland

In the last few days, the Savannah Music Festival and Live Oak Public Libraries have sponsored major fundraisers, but Friday the big party will be thrown by a lesser-known organization - Friends of Oatland.

With its "Beastly Feast," the group is planning to raise money for an animal rehabilitation center at Oatland Island Education Center.

At $60 a person, the event is considerably cheaper than many other fundraising events, and it's shaping up to be a good time. Nick Mueller - one of my favorite caterers - will be supplying the heavy hors d'oeuvres, plus there will be an open bar (always a good sign), music by the danceable Nickel Bag of Funk, a silent auction and likely some special animal guests.

The party, which starts at 7 p.m. Friday, will be in the Walker Mansion on Whitaker Street, one of the finest homes overlooking Forsyth Park. Tickets for the event can be obtained by calling Oatland (912) 898-3980 or stopping by Savannah Art Works at 240 Bull St.

More reasons to question coastal development

I'm fairly bullish on a lot of things about Savannah, but I'm an extreme skeptic - one of the few apparently - when it comes to predictions about explosive growth in the population of coastal Georgia in the next few decades.

It's all about water - raging water and rising water.

If you missed last week's Weather Channel special about the effects of a major hurricane on the region, at least take a look at the network's blog entry from Dec. 27 by senior meteorologist Stu Ostro at www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_11427.html.

Ostro notes that three major hurricanes struck the Georgia coast in the second half of the 19th century, and writes that "it's just a matter of when, not if, another disaster from the sea will befall this area."

Most of Ostro's blog entry is devoted to the fact that current discussions about coastal development are not taking into account the inevitability of hurricanes.

Also, news junkies this week may have noticed the reports about the latest studies from Greenland about the accelerating melting of glaciers and ice sheets. It's a documented fact that sea level is rising, and more and more evidence is coming in that the rise is going to be faster and higher than generally thought.

I'm not an expert on hurricanes or on sea level rise, but it's easy to find the people who are experts.